1. Field
This invention relates generally to the field of cosmetic repair to buildings and the like, and more specifically to a novel device for covering a hole in a wall, the device serving as a foundation in plastering over the hole.
2. Prior Art
In modern times, the vast majority of interior walls are formed by first erecting a series of two by four studs in parallel relation into a vertical lattice. Plasterboard, fiberboard, or a similar sheet like material is then nailed, screwed or otherwise fastened to the studs to complete the wall structure. Plastering, sanding and painting then make the wall structure more acceptable and aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
This method of erecting walls is a substantial time saver, as well as money saver, over the previously used plaster walls which were comparatively difficult and uneconomical to build. While plasterboard walls are easier to build and less expensive than plaster walls, however, a difficulty exists because plasterboard walls are not as durable or as structurally sound as the predecessor plaster walls. For example, it is common place to accidentally open a door with too much force, the doorknob of the door or a hook or similar protrusion attached to the door breaking a hole into the plasterboard between the supporting studs.
While small holes in plasterboard, such as those formed by nails, tacks, and the like, are easily repaired, larger holes, such as those formed by doorknobs, are much more difficult to patch. Because plasterboard walls generally have a substantially hollow interior, there is no support or foundation to hold the plaster with which the repair is to be made. Consequently, a number of devices have been used in the prior art to assume the position of a foundation. Each of these devices has proved to have a number of disadvantages.
One of the prior art devices consists of a nonadhesive, paper like tape, which is stretched over the hole to be repaired, the ends thereof being wetted to form a weak bond with the wall to hold the tape in place. While many manufacturers produce a tape similar to that described, these tapes are usually collectively known as perfatape. Although generally serving as an adequate foundation for holes no bigger than a few inches in diameter, perfatape does not provide the structural integrity necessary to hold enough plaster required to repair a larger hole.
Wire mesh screens are also known and used in the art, although such have proven to have unacceptable disadvantages as well. While wire mesh screens generally provide adequate structural strength, such screens are difficult to position in place within the hole to be repaired, and thus may slide about or even fall out of the hole as the plaster is applied thereto. Furthermore, plaster can seep and ooze through the screen elements, thereby wasting significant amounts of plaster. Thus, the use of wire screens can be disadvantageous in the repair of holes in plasterboard walls.
It is believed that one skilled in the art will appreciate that there is currently no device known within the art which is facilely inserted into the hole to be repaired and anchored therein so as to serve as a sure foundation for the plaster needed to repair the hole in the plasterboard itself. A legitimate need exists, therefore, in which an inexpensive foundation can be securely anchored within the interior of a plasterboard wall such that the hole to be repaired is covered by the foundation, the foundation then being covered over by plaster to an acceptable thickness.